RRND Email Full Text (Scheduled)

  • UK: Farage triggers by-election amid donations probe

    Source: Politico

    “Nigel Farage resigned as an MP Tuesday to trigger a by-election amid intense scrutiny of his financial arrangements. … Farage is being investigated by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg over whether he broke House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Farage has repeatedly said he was under no obligation to declare the gift because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP. He said Tuesday he is also being investigated over fresh accusations he failed to declare gifts and donations from crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-triggers-by-election-amid-donations-probe

  • France: Court opens door to Le Pen presidential run, with ankle tag

    Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]

    “A French appeal court on Tuesday upheld Marine Le Pen’s conviction for misusing EU funds but shortened her ban on running for public office, in theory preserving a path for the far-right leader to run in the 2027 presidential election. However, ‌the court also sentenced Le Pen to a three-year jail term: two suspended and one with an electronic ankle tag. This would make a presidential campaign politically and logistically difficult, and casts doubt on whether she will in fact continue to seek France’s highest office. Le Pen has previously said she would be reluctant to wage a presidential campaign while serving a sentence under electronic monitoring, arguing that it would interfere with campaigning and undermine her standing as a candidate. But she is yet ⁠to confirm what she will do.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/JsXif

  • UT: Regime revokes license for boarding school where Paris Hilton says she was abused as a teen

    Source: Seattle Times

    “The state of Utah has revoked the license of a boarding school where socialite Paris Hilton said she was abused as a teenager, saying the school has ‘failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients.’ The state’s action, which took effect Monday, cites multiple noncompliance issues against the Provo Canyon School’s campus in Springville. The school has 15 days to request a hearing before the Department of Health & Human Services. … ‘For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,’ Hilton said in a statement provided Tuesday. ‘Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care. I was one of those children.’ … She alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/c8rWK

  • NATO picks Swedish Saab early-warning planes over US rival

    Source: Reuters

    “NATO announced a roughly $4.5 billion plan on Tuesday to buy up to 10 ‌Saab GlobalEye surveillance planes to replace ageing AWACS early warning aircraft, backing a Swedish system over a rival solution from U.S. planemaker Boeing. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the replacement of Cold War-era Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, best known for their rotating radomes, ​with a new system based on smaller business jets would tackle threats like drone swarms. … With U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly pressing allies to ​spend more on defence and buy more U.S. equipment, Rutte took pains to underline the international pedigree of the ​system which is mounted on top of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets. … GlobalEye competes with Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, an early warning ‌and command-and-control ⁠aircraft based on the 737 jetliner and designed to oversee and direct battle.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-picks-swedish-saab-early-warning-planes-over-us-rival-2026-07-07/

  • Poll: US support for Israel slips as Democrats grow more critical

    Source: Seattle Times

    “After decades of reliable bipartisan backing for Israel, a new AP-NORC poll reveals a dramatic erosion of support for the longtime U.S. ally, with rising opposition from Democrats and signs of division among Republicans. The survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research arrives at a moment when a once-consensus foreign policy issue is increasingly polarizing Americans along partisan and generational lines, driven by criticism for Israel’s conduct nearly three years after the outbreak of its latest war with Hamas in Gaza. About one-third of U.S. adults — including roughly half of Democrats — believe that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza …. About 58% of Democrats now say the U.S. is ‘too supportive’ of the Israelis, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024 when former President Joe Biden was in office. That includes 51% of Jewish Democrats in the new poll.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/IWoxk

  • Samsung profits jump 1,800% as AI chip sales soar

    Source: BBC News [UK state media]

    “South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics says it expects to post a 19-fold jump in its profits, driven by global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips. The company forecast that it made 89.4tn won (£43.6bn; $58.4bn) between the start of April and the end of June, marking its third record quarterly operating profits in a row. Major South Korean firms like Samsung release forecasts of their earnings ahead of official detailed reports to help guide investors.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kyy8yrpxdo

  • Ukraine: Woman Suspected in Monaco Bombing Found Shot Dead, Report Says

    Source: US News & World Report

    “The body of a ⁠Ukrainian ⁠woman suspected of carrying ⁠out a bomb attack that targeted a wealthy ​Ukrainian-born businessman in Monaco last week was found near Ukraine’s capital ‌Kyiv, Ukrainska Pravda reported ‌on Tuesday. Citing sources in law enforcement, the Ukrainian news ⁠outlet said ⁠the woman had been shot and her body was found ​close to 11 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Monday. Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, was named as the chief suspect in an Interpol Red Notice, ​which said she was Ukrainian, spoke German and was wanted ⁠by authorities ⁠in Monaco for attempted ⁠murder, ​placing an explosive device in a public place with criminal intent, ​and criminal conspiracy. … Ukrainian-born Vadym Yermolaiev, ⁠his partner and son were wounded in the attack on Monday ⁠last week, sources said.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-07-07/woman-suspected-in-monaco-bombing-found-shot-dead-near-kyiv-report-says

  • CA: SJSU was told of decades-old allegations against volleyball coach during controversial 2024 season

    Source: Fox News

    “During the San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball team’s scandal-ridden 2024 season, the athletic department received a letter from one of head coach Todd Kress’[s] former players. The letter included allegations that Kress attacked her in a hotel room in 1998. Emails show that SJSU officials acknowledged the receipt of the allegations, thanked the former player for coming forward and apologized for her experiences. Despite this, Kress was never suspended and has continued to serve as the head coach of the women’s volleyball team. Fox News Digital was given copies of the emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player, from an independently verified source. Fox News Digital has independently verified she played at Fairfield under Kress in the 1998 season, but is not disclosing her name.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.foxnews.com/sports/sjsu-told-decades-old-allegations-against-volleyball-coach-during-controversial-2024-season

  • Teen snags Wilt Chamberlain’s LA Lakers jacket at Goodwill for $4. He could make $335k

    Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]

    “When Quinn Brown, 19, first laid eyes on basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 1972 Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket, it was in somebody else’s hands. The Portland, Ore., teen was picking through bins of new arrivals at a local Goodwill store in January when he saw another shopper pick up a massive, bright yellow jacket with Chamberlain’s name etched on the back. The shopper eyed it indecisively, then tossed it back. Brown snatched it up. As an avid thrifter, he says he knew right away it was a good find. He bought it for $3.07 US ($4.36 Cdn), figuring he could sell it online for a couple hundred bucks. Now it’s on the auction block at Sotheby’s, where it’s expected to fetch as much as $250,000 US ($355,150 Cdn). … it wasn’t until he started looking up photos online that he began to suspect it might actually have been worn by Chamberlain himself.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/wilt-chamberlain-jacket-goodwill-9.7260381?cmp=rss

  • Following Platner Allegations, Progressives Warn Democratic Establishment: “This Is Not Your Opening”

    Source: Common Dreams

    “As calls mounted on Monday evening for US Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race in Maine following sexual assault allegations, progressive organizers emphasized that primary voters in the state have made clear their demand for a candidate who prioritizes the needs of working people. Should Platner be replaced as the Democratic nominee, said the political action organization Our Revolution, the new candidate must be ‘one who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money’. ‘To the Democratic establishment: This is not your opening,’ said Joseph Geevarghese, the group’s executive director. ‘Mainers did not vote by an overwhelming margin against Janet Mills and the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]’s handpicked pick just to be handed another status-quo candidate anyway.'” [editor’s note: Newsflash for these idiots, “what they voted for” was no more Gov Mills in a position of power! Platner was just what they considered “the lesser evil” – SAT] (07/07/26)

    https://www.commondreams.org/news/platner-election

  • Syria: Explosions rock Damascus during Macron’s visit

    Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

    “At least two explosive devices have gone off in the Syrian capital, Damascus, as French President Emmanuel Macron visits the country. Syria’s Interior Ministry said at least 18 people, including four police officers, were wounded in the blasts, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Television footage showed plumes of smoke rising over the city and other footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera showed a vehicle on fire. An Al Jazeera correspondent said that the blasts occurred near the Ministry of Tourism and a hotel where Macron was meant to be staying during a visit to the capital for talks with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/7/explosions-heard-in-syrias-damascus


  • Let’s Leave the Strait of Hormuz Alone

    Source: Antiwar.com
    by Ron Paul

    “[P]erhaps the most destructive ‘own-goal’ of the US attack is the Iranian decision to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz. Even in the US/Israeli attacks of last June, the Strait was kept open by Iran. It is a vital trade route and in everyone’s best interest to keep open for business. The February attack and Iran’s strong regional response led the country to embrace what some have called a de facto nuclear weapon: control of the Strait. … It is in the best interest of the United States to abandon claims on Hormuz – which is thousands of miles away – and live with the consequences of Trump’s mistake.” (07/07/26)

    https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2026/07/06/lets-leave-the-strait-of-hormuz-alone

  • Politics is Just Another Word for No Freedom Left to Choose

    Source: Garrison Center
    by Joel Schlosberg

    “Big business versus big government is the ultimate false dichotomy of our time. Championing the former won’t break the cycle that allows both to marginalize the scope of (and solutions emerging from) voluntary cooperation, decentralized association, and individual freedom.” (07/07/26)

    https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20727

  • Billionaire Welfare Queens and Their Sycophants

    Source: Libertarian Institute
    by Thomas Eddlem

    “Elon Musk has taken in at least $38 billion in subsidies and federal contracts, not counting the $1.5 billion EV subsidy Tesla took advantage of from President Barack Obama’s 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The ARRA gave a $7,500 per vehicle subsidy to electric vehicle purchases. In total, that $39.5 billion in subsidies amounts to $470 for every one of the 84.2 million American families. That means the average family is $470 poorer because of Elon Musk. Billionaire and trillionaire sycophants counter that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and the other super-wealthy provide services to the American government, that these services are ‘worth it,’ and that if they hadn’t provided the services or taken the subsidies someone else would have. … [That] sounds a lot like an argument a leftist greenie and a loyalist of the military-industrial complex would make, respectively.” (07/07/26)

    https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/billionaire-welfare-queens-and-their-sycophants

  • People Used to Control Machines. They Don’t Anymore

    Source: Wired
    by Ian Bogost

    “If gratification is so easy, why don’t you feel more gratified already? Because it’s gotten harder. It’s still easy to experience individual feats of gratification when you find them (or they find you). But the ordinary circumstances that once produced so much gratification have gradually receded. Unseen choices in design, business, and social life have made it harder for you to engage directly with the sensory world. This problem snuck up on me, and probably on you as well. Slowly, over time, the world started withdrawing from us. Automation took over ordinary tasks. Things that used to have buttons suddenly did not. Basic activities got taken over by computers. I was slow to notice it happening, too. But once I did, I saw it everywhere and every day.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/ivBfr

  • Democracy has a participation problem. AI may help solve it.

    Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Education
    by Chloe Ratner

    “While discussions about AI often focus on misinformation and transparency, these concerns miss the bigger picture. The question is no longer whether AI should shape democratic processes — it already does — but how it can be channeled to promote free speech and democracy with imperfect tools. Generative AI has become a hot debate topic in the world of First Amendment rights and free speech. Questions about how to classify AI-generated content, what protections it does or does not deserve, and who bears liability for its outputs represent genuine legal and ethical frontiers. But amid these legal and ethical debates, a fundamental capability of AI gets lost in the noise: its ability to sort, organize, and amplify human speech rather than replace it.” (07/08/25)

    https://www.fire.org/news/democracy-has-participation-problem-ai-may-help-solve-it

  • Mamdani’s Embittered Fourth of July Rant to America

    Source: American Greatness
    by Victor Davis Hanson

    “Zohran Mamdani, New York’s self-described socialist mayor, could not resist using the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration to trash the very country that he and his parents voluntarily sought out. As is his custom, Mamdani speaks in stereotypes and generalities, offering few if any examples, all laced with his accustomed unctuous hypocrisy. … At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another. Thus spoke the pampered rich kid from Uganda, who immigrated to America with his now-endowed professor father and elite filmmaker mother, the latter reportedly supported by millions of dollars in grants from the Qatari royal autocracy.” (07/07/26)

    https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/07/mamdanis-embittered-fourth-of-july-rant-to-america/

  • Rewarding Good Governance: How Foot-Voters Benefit Society

    Source: The Daily Economy
    by Emile Phaneuf III

    “Governance improves when people and businesses are free to leave high-tax, low-value jurisdictions. Competition can improve public policy just as it improves products and services.” (07/07/26)

    https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/rewarding-good-governance-how-foot-voters-benefit-society/

  • Return-to-office mandates are a pay cut in disguise

    Source: The Hill
    by Gleb Tsipursky

    “Return-to-office is a compensation decision that hits wallets first and morale soon after. If leaders want people in seats, the fair move is simple: cover the costs or raise the pay. When workers go to the office, they pay to work. The typical in-office day now runs roughly $15 for the commute, $9 for parking, $13 for breakfast or coffee, and $18 for lunch, all detailed in the 2025 Owl Labs report.” [editor’s note: While I agree that it’s a pay cut, if you’re spending $13 for breakfast/coffee and $18 for lunch on a daily basis, I suggest Googling terms like “lunch box” and “insulated mug” – TLK] (07/07/26)

    https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5955528-office-commute-costs-employees/

  • Today In Dystopia

    Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
    by Caitlin Johnstone

    “Today in dystopia Americans are becoming increasingly outraged by the ubiquity of Flock’s AI-assisted surveillance cameras throughout US cities. Flock officers getting caught in lies and viral video footage of police abusing their access to the technology have contributed to the outcry, with public vandalism of the cameras taking place with increasing frequency in public spaces. Today in dystopia the German government is moving to ban workers from calling in sick by phone in order to boost the economy by reducing the amount of sick leave being taken by corporate employees. New regulations would require a certified in-person doctor’s visit on the very first day of sick leave. They’re just coming right out and saying that the public exists to serve the corporations now. Today in dystopia we’re starting to see videos of quadrupedal robots firing guns with accuracy and minimal recoil.” (07/07/26)

    https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/07/today-in-dystopia/

  • Freedom Versus the Income Tax

    Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
    by Jacob G Hornberger

    “[F]or more than 100 years, Americans were free to keep everything they earned — 100 percent — and there was nothing that U.S. officials could do about. That’s what it once meant to be an American. That’s what it once meant to be free. By the time the late 1800s came along, the standard of living of the American people was skyrocketing. A big reason for that phenomenon was that there had been no income tax for almost 100 years.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.fff.org/2026/07/07/freedom-versus-the-income-tax/

  • Memo to Trump: Don’t go wobbly on Ukraine at the NATO summit

    Source: New York Post
    by staff

    “As President Donald Trump prepares to take center stage at the NATO summit in Ankara, he must place the robust defense of Ukraine at the absolute top of the agenda. Whatever he does — whatever his current irritations — he must not look to throw Kyiv under the bus. Rather, with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin still baring his gritted teeth, Trump must communicate to his counterparts in the great North Atlantic security alliance the necessity of holding the line, ramping up pressure on Moscow and bolstering its defensive posture on the eastern frontier. Russian aggression is Europe’s generational security challenge (and down the road, potentially America’s, too); it demands to be top-of-mind for every leader in the alliance. Anything less would signal weakness to Putin and embolden adversaries from Beijing to Tehran.” (07/06/26)

    https://nypost.com/2026/07/06/opinion/memo-to-trump-dont-go-wobbly-on-ukraine-at-the-nato-summit/

  • A Mutual Sympathy of Sentiments

    Source: EconLog
    by Art Carden

    “In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith explains that we want to establish a ‘mutual sympathy of sentiments.’ We want people to agree with our views, and we want to agree with their views. Smith first expanded on this idea … before he developed his broader theory of a commercial society in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The implications were astounding: a complex division of labor and division of knowledge, and the kind of prosperity we see today. That’s what every bid and ask in a market is: a request to cooperate through mutual sympathy with another person. It can be plainly rejected by someone who doesn’t share similar sentiments, but every opportunity to exchange is a sacred opportunity to work together with someone to mutual advantage.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.econlib.org/econlog/a-mutual-sympathy-of-sentiments

  • A Military Flyover Country Turns 250

    Source: Common Dreams
    by Bita Iuliano & Olivia Dinucci

    “As the country and this administration launched its America 250 and Freedom 250 ‘Celebrations’ over the holiday weekend, what we experienced in the nation’s capitol and a city of 700,000 residents replicated what the United States does to other parts of the world. The streets were invaded by the military, public spaces barricaded with multiple levels of security checkpoints, and the sky full of military flyovers, including a seven-hour schedule of flyovers on July 4th. Military flyovers come at a devastating cost—economically, psychologically, and environmentally. The most recent ones came in the middle of a heatwave where even Trump’s American State Fair closed after people were baptizing themselves in the religious tent to prevent heat stroke. But flyovers are not new and have been used as a propaganda tool for military recruitment during NFL games and summer festivals. The militarization has been so normalized for so long.” (07/06/26)

    https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/patriotic-flyovers

  • Why Does the Earth Need More Fences to Stay Green?

    Source: Students For Liberty
    by Ketevani Kadagishvili

    “Walk down any residential street and you will notice a curious, common pattern. A homeowner’s private garden is often a well-tended space filled with blooming flowers and vibrant life. In contrast, the public park we share is frequently damaged by litter, ruined grass, and broken benches. Why does this difference exist? The answer lies in the deep connection between ownership and care, a principle that Frédéric Bastiat understood nearly two centuries ago.” (07/07/26)

    https://studentsforliberty.org/blog/why-does-the-earth-need-more-fences-to-stay-green/

  • Why Are Millionaires Leaving the UK?

    Source: Foundation for Economic Education
    by Mani Basharzad

    “Samuel Johnson once wrote that ‘when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’ Today, however, there seems to be one group that is tired of London: millionaires.” (07/07/26)

    https://fee.org/articles/why-are-millionaires-leaving-the-uk/

  • Chatrie and the Long and Winding Road to Privacy

    Source: Law & Liberty
    by Amy Peikoff

    “A Supreme Court ruling on cell phone location data may signal a deeper shift in how courts define privacy under the Fourth Amendment.” (07/07/26)

    https://lawliberty.org/chatrie-and-the-long-and-winding-road-to-privacy/

  • Left’s [sic] SCOTUS panic collapses under weight of facts

    Source: Fox News
    by John Yoo

    “The Supreme Court’s rush of decisions last week belies several myths concocted by its leftist [sic] critics. Listen to Democratic politicians or read liberal [sic] legal commentators, and you would believe that a conservative Supreme Court is marching in lockstep with Donald Trump to impose an extremist agenda on an unwilling American people. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer [D-NY] for example, often criticizes what he dubs ‘the MAGA Supreme Court’ for transforming government agencies into ‘members-only clubs for his golf buddies and cronies’. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries [D-NY] decries ‘the corrupt conservative majority on the Supreme Court appointed by Donald Trump’ for ‘taking a blowtorch’ to civil rights laws. Almost every Democratic leader, especially those jockeying for position in the 2028 presidential race, demands that Congress pack the court in order to correct this alleged bias of the conservative justices.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/john-yoo-lefts-supreme-court-panic-collapses-weight-facts

  • The Plot to Ruin America

    Source: CounterPunch
    by Nick Estes

    “Nothing encapsulates the decline of the American project quite like the optics of its 250th anniversary. While four hundred masked neo-fascists marched through the capitol in navy-blue button-downs and khakis chanting ‘Reclaim America!’—entirely unchallenged either by police or antifascists—the official Independence Day parade was canceled because of extreme heat. It’s a disturbing vignette for our era. The country is turning far to the right and becoming too hot to even celebrate its own founding myths, reaching temperatures that climate scientists said would have been ‘virtually impossible’ before human-caused climate change. So who’s to blame for this current mess? Predictably, the political class has no interest in examining the structural decay.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/07/the-plot-to-ruin-america/

  • America: Land of the cheats

    Source: UnHerd
    by B Duncan Moench

    “‘Ball don’t lie.’ This phrase, originally attributed to NBA star Rasheed Wallace, comes from American basketball culture and implies that, no matter what the referees or back-office bureaucrats do to intervene in the game, the ball will end up where it should. If it goes through the net, the sporting gods wanted it to happen. The best team wins. Always. … Yes, Donald Trump may have personally intervened with Fifa to get Folarin Balogun, America’s star striker, an exception on the red card he’d earned in the previous match. But having Daddy Warbucks pull strings for your side can take an athletic effort only so far: in the end, Belgium won the game 4-1.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/PF12h

  • European Rearmament Is a Trap

    Source: The American Conservative
    by Luke Nicastro

    “[T]he plain truth is that the U.S. military presence is not necessary to keep the Cossacks from waltzing into Warsaw, let alone Berlin or Paris. This would be the case even in the absence of the current rearmament push, and even if Russia had demonstrable designs on European territory beyond Ukraine. The non-U.S. members of NATO have a collective GDP that is over 10 times that of Russia. There are over 600 million Europeans to about 140 million Russians. Although its militaries are short on what the heads call ‘strategic enablers,’ there is little doubt that they would make a conventional conflict with Russia so painful as to deter its commencement. And indeed, when it comes to Russia, America’s aim should be to avoid conflict—not provoke it.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/european-rearmament-is-a-trap/

  • Maine Needs a Lighthouse Primary

    Source: The American Prospect
    by David Dayen

    “The first of the two times I wrote about Graham Platner at these pages was last year. Among other things, it made the point that candidates are vessels for ideas and policies, and that none of them are indispensable. The second time, a week ago, was about how financial corruption exists on a different plane than other scandals. That is not diminished by the latest news; Platner’s actions and Susan Collins’s corruption can both be inexcusable and described as such. Regardless of any public defiance from unnamed sources, Platner is not going to survive the latest allegations, and he should not. What comes next is the only thing that matters now, in a world where a Democratic Senate is vital to preventing continued unchecked lawlessness, the confirmation of dozens more right-wing judges, and to preserve the vestiges of democracy.” [editor’s note: In recent years I have watched from afar the madness in my homeland states, with a mixture of amusement and horror. I am SO happy to be back to amusement – SAT] (07/07/26)

    https://prospect.org/2026/07/06/maine-needs-lighthouse-primary-graham-platner-senate-susan-collins/

  • Iraq PM embraces his inner Michael Corleone — for the best of reasons

    Source: Responsible Statecraft
    by Tanya Goudsouzian & Ibrahim Al-Marashi

    “Ali Al Zaidi has launched an unprecedented but much needed crackdown on figures tied to the country’s massively corrupt patronage system.” (07/07/26)

    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ali-zaidi-iraq-corruption/

  • Why won’t Trump just tell us what the Iran war cost?

    Source: Los Angeles Times
    by Jon Duffy

    “The Trump administration is asking Congress to pay for the consequences of a war with Iran that Congress never authorized. Before lawmakers write that check, they should require a serious accounting of what the war has already cost — and what the administration is asking them to pay for.” (07/07/26)

    https://archive.is/UXARt

  • Technology shocks and boom bust cycles

    Source: Cobden Centre
    by Dr. Frank Shostak

    “Contrary to KP, an economic boom is not about economic prosperity and wealth generation, but about the diversion of resources from the wealth generating activities towards activities that consume and do not produce wealth i.e. undermine the wealth generating process. Or we could say that an economic boom gives rise to activities that are engaged in consumption, which is unbacked by the previous production of wealth i.e. non-productive consumption. If for some reason the diversion of resources is arrested, various non-productive activities that sprang up as a result of this diversion come under pressure i.e. an economic bust emerges.” (07/07/26)

    https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/07/technology-shocks-and-boom-bust-cycles/

  • What Makes Sam Alito So Angry?

    Source: Washington Monthly
    by Rodger D Citron

    “Irked by liberals from Princeton to Yale and the Justice Department to the Supreme Court, the conservative jurist finishes another term unbowed.” (07/07/26)

    https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/07/07/samuel-alito-revenge-for-the-sixties/

  • America Was Not Founded by “Tariff Men,” Contrary to This Painting in Trump’s White House

    Source: Independent Institute
    by Phillip W Magness

    “The significance of trade to the Revolution’s origins helps to resolve a long-observed paradox about the colonists’ motives. Despite the Revolution’s reputation as a tax revolt, Americans paid relatively low tax rates compared to people in England proper. The total sum was ‘paltry,’ and most of Parliament’s new revenue measures were ‘moderate and often short-lived,’ to quote economist Deirdre Nansen Mccloskey. They nonetheless sparked a political upheaval against the assertion of a novel and foreign authority. The issue was not the tax rate; it was the fact that Parliament could claim a tax power over trade, and thus over all else.” (07/06/26)

    https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/06/america-founded-tariff-men/

  • Democreeps Only Believe Women When It’s Useful to Them

    Source: Town Hall
    by Derek Hunter

    “What a difference political affiliation makes. Democrat Graham Platner is now on the outs with the party, not because of assaulting women, but because he is accused of assaulting a fellow Democrat. That party has lost its soul, as has the media. When Platner was accused of assaulting and abusing a conservative woman he dated, none of these people cared. ‘She can’t be trusted, she’s a conservative activist’, they said. The devotion to victims, the currency of victimhood, disappeared when it wasn’t one of ‘their team’. Ro Khana, a ‘progressive’ leftist hypocrite from California who rails against wealth while amassing a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars through marriage and stock trades, was unbothered when a conservative woman told of how Platner was physically abusive with her, just as long as ‘there were no more shoes to drop’.” (07/07/26)

    https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2026/07/07/democreeps-only-believe-women-when-its-useful-to-them-n2678931